Vacation In San Francisco

Visiting The Vapor Room of San Francisco

By R.J. Villa

Like many things in life, good old Frank Sinatra painted a perfect picture of San Francisco as he sang, “High on a hill it calls to me, to be where little cable cars climb halfway to the stars.”

The summertime is one of the best times to visit San Francisco. School is out, vacation time is banked, and the increasing summer temperatures have many Southern Californians taking holidays in cooler temperatures up north. It is a city where the train tracks that line the asphalt are just as plentiful as the cable lines lining the roads overhead. Cable cars continuously buzz by as regular automobiles and SUVs become fewer and far between with all the hybrid cars and scooters efficiently puttering along the city streets.

When it comes time for considering your medication options while visiting the San Francisco area, a must stop is The Vapor Room Cooperative in the Lower Haight. The moment you reach Steiner Street, a familiar smell will draw you towards the cooperative’s doorway. After being buzzed in and given the rules by a security guard, you are greeted by a friendly staff member at the reception desk to handle your patient verification. Once a member, you are walked through a very relaxed lounge area and surrounded by patients from all walks of life.

“The Vapor Room Cooperative started in June of 2006,” says Martin Olive, Executive Director of The Vapor Room. “Prior to that, we were a collective that started in 2004.”

The environment and social vibe was very reminiscent of visiting a cannabis coffee shop in Amsterdam. People from different backgrounds were all congregating through the common thread of medicating with cannabis. What really makes this cooperative special are the high-end vaporizers, water pipes and papers provided for medicating within the lounge area.

“We have custom waterpipes made of 9mm Schott glass as well as Volcano Vaporizers on every table in our lounge,” states Olive. “We also provide glass pipes and RAW rolling papers.”

The Vapor Room offers a varying selection of high quality therapeutic cannabis strains, concentrates, edibles, tinctures and Forest Nymph Botanicals cannabis products, which are all displayed in very artistic and professional glass display cases. A clone bank behind the counter holds a selection of healthy cuttings in a BCNL grow box for those looking to grow their own medication.

“We have been really excited about a return to some heirloom strains that have not been around consistently for a few years,” reveals Olive. “Strains like Champagne, Romulan, Northern Lights #1, Super Skunk and Silver Haze have all been making their way through our counter with welcome arms and bowls. Let us not forget all the creative endeavors put forth by our member providers with crazy cross strains that are very beneficial and unique in the their effects such as Amnesia (Skunk x Cinderella x Jack Herer), Bubba Berry (Blackberry Kush x Bubba Kush), RomWreck (Romulan x Trainwreck) and Cheese Cough (Cheese x Strawberry Cough). Lastly, we have been especially excited to be a part of Project CBD and carrying High CBD strains like Harlequin and Cannatonic (MK Ultra x G13). High CBD has been particularly beneficial to our members who prefer pain and inflammation relief without the high associated with THC.

Omni San Francisco Hotel Kids Fantasy Suite — The Vacation Gals

Here at The Vacation Gals we primarily write about family travel, romantic trips and girlfriend getaways — never business travel. Not our niche. But on a recent trip to San Francisco , I was given the opportunity to stay at the Omni Hotel — a luxury class business hotel if there ever was one — and tour its Kids’ Fantasy Suite. These child-friendly suites, only at select Omni hotels across the country, make it very enticing for a family to stay at what is traditionally considered a business trip hotel.

The Omni San Francisco Hotel offers its Omni Sensational Kids program here, calling it four-diamond service for traveling children. There are child-friendly amenities, of course (a box of crayons is the easy part). The Omni takes it a step further, though, with the Kids’ Fantasy Suite. This is a two-bedroom corner suite, created with the needs and desires of young kids in mind. A bunkbed, oversized stuffed chairs and stuffed animals, a beanbag, a kid-sized puppet theater, and lots of rubber duckies in the kids’ bathroom make one room undeniably for the children.

The Deluxe King for parents connects to the Kids’ Fantasy Suite, which is ideal for families, since all parents know it’s great to be able to have a door and some privacy from kids. I imagine that children staying at the Kids’ Fantasy Suite at the Omni San Francisco Hotel would have a hard time containing their excitement — and hey, it’s a travel experience, why not let them stay up a little late and play in the super-fun room?

Parents are given a full list of the best family-friendly activities and attractions in San Francisco. San Francisco has so many fun things to do for kids (and some fun shopping for parents) that it’s nice to see a list of sights recommended by the hotel staff. There’s much more to San Francisco than the “biggies” like the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz, after all. The famous Ferry Building is just four blocks away, as are Union Square and the Embarcadero Center. The kids receive amenities like a real, child-sized backpack, games, books, and special menus featuring kiddie favorites. The fridge in the kids’ room is stocked with yogurt, chocolate milk, and more.

This summer, Omni is running a summer travel package for families (through September 5, 2011). It includes an “adventure map” of nearby areas to explore. Now, I traveled solo to San Francisco on this last trip. My own kids didn’t get to personally explore the Kids’ Fantasy Suite. However, knowing them as I do, I’m confident that they’d love to stay at the Omni San Francisco hotel for our next family vacation there. It’s a terrific, kid-friendly, upscale business hotel.

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